Ever since gas prices shot up last summer, the demand for electric vehicles began to soar ... and laptop battery manufacturers want a piece of the action.There are a few manufacturers leading the way. A123Systems, a lithium-ion battery startup, and Johnson-Controls Saft, a lithium-ion joint venture between Milwaukee automotive-component supplier Johnson Controls and French battery maker Saft to name a few. Both have received state funding and have announced plans to build factories in Michigan.
Boston Power, a Massachusetts based company, is currently working on an electric vehicle battery named Swing. The battery has received $9 million in state funding, and is waiting on $100 million in federal grants from the US Department of Energy.
Although electric cars do release zero emissions, these vehicles still come out ahead of gaz-guzzlers in carbon dioxide emissions. A Slate.com article explains that most electric vehicles don't even have tailpipes, eliminating harmful gases such as nitrous oxide, and producing far less methane than gas-powered vehicles. The only exception is sulfur dioxide, coming from coal combustion.
Sulfur dioxide leads to acid rain. Carbon-dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour is determined by how much coal is used in your electricity. The more CO2 emissions, the more coal. Use the EPA zipcode tool here to determine how clean your electricity really is.
How will these batteries help the environment? Swing for example, has “industry-leading capabilities” in areas such as energy density, lifespan, safety, cost savings and environmental sustainability -- according to an Earth2Tech article.
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